


Saturday Summons

by Augustine01189



Category: Original Work
Genre: Art School, Artists, Body Dysphoria, College, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, M/M, Magical Realism, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Occult, Original Character(s), Slow Burn, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-01-30 21:49:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21435235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Augustine01189/pseuds/Augustine01189
Summary: Henry Evans is tired. He's tired of being misgendered, judged, and isolated. In a time of desperation he turns to witchcraft, not realizing the vastness of its ancient powers.Jude Chambers is tired too. They just want others to be happy, they want to be happy. Jude has been a practicing pagan for years so when Henry asks them to preform a ritual, they happily oblige.
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

“It’s too cold,'' Jude said wrapping their scarf tighter around their neck. They were right. It was cold. All the leaves had abandoned their branches weeks ago and now we waited for the snow. Henry slowed his pace, wanting the walk to class to last just a little longer. It was rare that Henry had any time alone with Jude, the two usually being surrounded by a large group. “Agreed. I wish humans could hibernate.” Henry said, giving Jude a quick smile.  
The two were freshmen at an art school in Maryland. They came from wildly different places with wildly different families, friends, and lives, but somehow they’d ended up friends. Henry called a small farm town in Maine home. Jude was from Atlanta, Georgia. Hot, loud, and busy.  
Soon the two arrived at Carlson Hall, where they both had a class. Henry was taking ‘Drawing the Human Form’, an artistic anatomy class. Boring but necessary.  
“Can I meet you downstairs when class is over?” Jude asked, pressing the up button for the elevator. Henry nodded. He’d love that.

After class Henry waited by the elevator, watching a crow pick at an old Chipotle bag on the sidewalk. Waiting for the elevator to ding was almost torture. Henry hadn’t eaten in a few hours and he was starving. Him and Jude had planned on going to the dining hall for a late lunch after class but now he wishes he’d eaten before.  
The elevator doors finally opened and Jude stepped out, messenger bag slung over their side, looking extremely heavy. “How was class?” Henry asks, opening the doors to the freezing outside. Jude shrugged passively. “Nothing much. These midterm projects are really piling up now though.” They mumbled, pulling their scarf over their mouth. Henry flinched. Midterms were due in a week and he hadn’t started any of his projects.  
Later that night Henry flops into his bed exhausted. His roommate is away for the weekend so he has the whole room to himself. Henry puts on some quiet music and goes about his nightly routine. Take off chest binder, stretch, breathe deep. Attempt to wipe off all that day’s eyeliner. Change into sweatpants. The final step requires a little more effort though. He takes a shoebox from under his bed. It’s filled with all sorts of things; crystals, dried flowers, small candles in various colors, and assorted jars of herbs. Henry took up witchcraft over the last few weeks to help with stress. Jude recommended it and of course he would do anything they said. Jude was right too, the practice of centering and grounding was very relaxing and making spell jars just felt like it was helping.  
Henry lights a small white candle and sits cross-legged on the floor. He closes his eyes and thinks about that days events. His mind always ends up wandering to Jude though. Henry shakes his head and gets back to the task at hand. He takes a deep breath and tried to imagine energy from the ground flowing up through his body. “Dammit” He whispers. It’s not working too well tonight. Henry blows out the candle and packs everything back into the box. He wasn’t sure if it was midterms that was stressing him out or the fact that he couldn’t stop thinking about Jude.  
They’re tall, much taller than Henry who stands at around 5’3”. They had such a good fashion sense too, thrifted clothes covered with rips and paint. They’re dark hair was always a mess. God, why did his friend have to be so attractive? Henry runs his hands through his hair, fingers catching in the thick curls. He crumples into his bed, smushing his face into the pillow. “We will not catch feelings.” He says to himself. “We will not catch feelings.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jude and Henry watch a movie

Henry watched as Jude scratched at the thick scar that ran across their throat. Henry was working on his final for Drawing the Human Form. Jude had agreed to model for him since they had nothing better to do. “Jude…” Henry said, not looking up from his sketchbook. Jude kept fidgeting, running hands through their hair, adjusting their scarf. “Oh sorry, I’ll stay still”. They said. Henry’s never asked about the scar. It seemed too personal. He glances up from his sketchbook to get a good look at Jude’s profile.   
“You have charcoal on your face,” Jude says, pointing at their own nose to give Henry and idea at where it was. Henry always had some sort of art material on his face or hands, from spray paint to glitter. Jude was the opposite, their clothes always slathered in a thick layer of paint.   
“Thanks, this stuff gets everywhere,” Henry says, pushing the kneaded eraser around on the paper. He was nervous to show Jude the drawing, not that it was bad but drawing someone you know is always a challenge. What if the person didn’t like what they saw? Jude was still fidgeting, clearly having trouble sitting still for this long. Henry added a few more details and set the sketchbook down, looking at his work from a distance. Yeah, it looked like Jude.  
“All done!” Henry says, turning around the book for his friend to see. Jude smiled. Henry felt himself blush lightly, his face getting hotter by the second. Jude’s smile caused butterflies to erupt in his stomach. “D-Do you think I should turn it in?” He asks, damning himself for his stutter. Henry knew that he should. It was a good drawing, but hearing Jude’s approval would be nice.  
“Totally. Not turning it in would be stupid.” Jude adjusted their big, round glasses, smudging the lends by accident. Henry’s choker suddenly felt like it was actually choking him.  
“Do you wanna come over to watch a movie on Saturday?” He blurted, instinctively flapping his hands at his sides. Henry didn’t know why but it was always an ordeal now to talk to Jude when just a month ago it was so easy.   
Jude smiled and nodded. “What time?” They said, pushing up their glasses again.   
“I was thinking maybe 7? I finish my studio class at 6.”  
“Yeah, that works for me. Have any specific movie in mind?” Jude’s phone chimed but they didn’t look down at it.  
“Something Wes Anderson probably.” Fantastic Mr.Fox was always great but would Jude want to watch something animated? ‘Better go with something a little more mature’, Henry thought to himself.

Saturday came around painfully slow. Creeping slowly, almost feeling as if time was out to spite Henry. He was finishing up his illustration basics studio class and packing his things up as soon as the clock struck 6. He had to have time to clean his room before Jude came over. The room was always relatively clean, Henry’s roommate, Jason was a bit of a neat freak but in the few days he’s been gone, the room had fallen into a state of disaster. Henry hurried back to the dorm, swiping his student card at the door. His room had trash everywhere, an unmade bed, clothes scattered across the floor, and art supplies all over, while Jason’s side remained spotless.   
Mess usually stressed Henry out to the point of sensory overload, but in the haze of midterms and Jude, he hadn’t even noticed. Henry cleaned like a mad-man, the minutes ticking down to when Jude would be in his room. He had no idea why he was freaking out, Jude had been here many times, even seeing it a mess like this. This time was different though, Henry could feel it.  
A knock at the door at startled Henry, causing him to jump slightly. He looked down at his phone to see that it was only 6:38, still another 20 minutes before Jude would come over. The room was noticeably clearer, but still, not at the level Henry liked to keep it. He opened the door to see Jude standing there, a blanket around their shoulders, a bag of still steaming microwave popcorn in their hands.   
“Sorry I’m early, I got bored of sitting and waiting in my room.” They shrugged, smiling sheepishly.   
“That’s totally fine dude, I was just cleaning up a bit.” Henry invites Jude in and they sit on Henry’s freshly made bed, Jude immediately grabbing Henry’s stuffed raccoon and snuggling it. ‘Damn that’s cute’ Henry thinks.   
As they settle into the movie (Fantastic Mr. Fox to Henry’s surprise), Henry relaxes, not even blushing when Jude lays their head on his shoulder. Maybe he isn’t attracted to Jude, just sexually frustrated. Clearly, Henry is wrong when he can feel Jude looking at him, trying to get his attention without saying anything. Henry flushes, his face heating up more than he’s ever felt before. He pretends not to notice, keeping his eyes on the computer screen, but that doesn’t work for too long. Henry locks eyes with Jude. “What’s up?” He glances down to their lips, then back to their eyes. Fuck, Henry really wants to kiss them.   
“Can we take a nap?” Jude asks, nuzzling their chin into Henry’s shoulder. “I’m so sleepy.” Henry smiles, closing his laptop and placing it on his desk. The two slump back onto the pillows, somehow Henry ending up the little spoon. It doesn’t take long for Jude to fall asleep but Henry can’t even close his eyes. They’re so warm and Henry is blushing again. Thank god Jude can’t see.

Eventually, Henry manages to fall asleep because when he wakes, Jude is gone and the bed is cold. He rolls over, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “What time is it?” he mumbles, grabbing his phone from under the pillows. The screen reads 11:14. Under the time is a text from Jude.  
“Sorry to leave you alone, I had some work to do but you looked so peaceful so I didn’t wake you. See you tomorrow :)”  
Henry smiles, deciding not to text back, but to go back to sleep. The cold feeling of the bed has been replaced by a warmness in his chest. Henry drops his phone back onto the bed and pulls a hand through his messy hair. He can’t stop thinking about how Jude looked at him. Maybe he’s overthinking things, but damn does it feel good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those wondering, the scar on Jude's neck is from a biking accident from when they were a kid. Nothing terrible happened! Henry also stims as a way to release excess energy and deal with emotions. The autism spectrum is difficult to explain so I won't be doing that here.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry's bad day leads to ramen in Jude's room

Henry’s midterm projects are finally complete and he can finally stop stressing so much. He has spent the day working in his room since going out would be, uncomfortable, to say the least. Yesterday was a bad day. He had gone into complete sensory overload in the dining hall at lunch. He and Jude tended to avoid it during popular times like noon but circumstances had lead them to a small table in a loud room. Jude had done their best to distract him from the sounds of talking and chewing but it was all too much for Henry.   
They both ended up in Jude’s bed, Henry unable to stop crying. The whole ordeal was embarrassing. He knew that Jude understood but still couldn’t help feeling like a burden. Eventually, Henry felt better but instead of staying in Jude’s room just for their presence, he decided to go to his room for a nap. He curled up in bed, not feeling much of anything aside from a buzzing between his ears.   
Today had been better though, quiet and productive. Henry dug his stim necklace out of a drawer in his desk. He was hoping to not need it at school, but he guessed something like this would happen. The necklace was a nylon cord with a blue rubber shark on the end meant for chewing. It made Henry feel safer to have something to chew on.  
Henry sat on the floor by his bed, paging through a book titled ‘The Green Witch’. It focused mostly on plant-based magic, which Henry was very interested in. He was reading over a self-confidence ritual that he’d like to perform eventually. Henry grabbed his Grimoire from under his bed along with a pen. He liked to write rituals and spells down step by step so he could go back to them if he’d like.   
“A white candle, a yellow candle, a bowl, a bit of lemon balm, salt, a piece of paper, and water. Seems easy enough.” He said to himself, sorting through his jars of dried herbs. He didn’t have lemon balm but Jude probably did. Jude was some sort of witchy mentor to Henry. They seemed to know everything, what herbs meant what, how to read tarot, everything. Henry pulled out his phone to text them.  
“Hey bud, do you have any lemon balm? I need a bit for a spell.” Henry typed out the message and set his phone down to continue to write down the steps of the ritual. It wasn’t complicated at all. The most difficult part was figuring out what he wanted to say on the paper. It had to be what he wanted to be more confident in, but Henry couldn’t think of anything specific. He wanted to be more confident in everything.  
Eventually, he settled on being more confident in social encounters. Henry wrote a note of this and put all of his things away, feeling magicked out for the day. Really it was the grumbling in his stomach that distracted him. It was nearly 6 pm, but just the thought of going near the dining hall put Henry on edge. His phone buzzed, distracting him from his anxious thoughts. It was a text from Jude.  
“Yeah, I’m actually growing some :)” The text read. Henry knew Jude would have some. He sends a text back:  
“Neato. Do you wanna order some food?” Ordering in would be nice, but eating with Jude would make it even better.  
“Sounds good. Wanna come over?” Jude lived just down the hallway so Henry wasn’t sure why he hadn’t gone over there sooner rather than texting. He got up and made his way down to Jude’s room. They had a single room this term since they’re roommate dropped out after a month. Jude was so lucky. Henry and Jason were fine roommates, but you can’t sleep naked when you have another person 5 feet from you. Henry knocked on the door and it was opened immediately, Jude standing there with a smile.  
After a few minutes of deliberation, the two decided on ramen for dinner, something they both really enjoyed. There was a great ramen place down the road that delivered. It was heaven for college students. They ordered their food and put on a show to watch while they waited. Henry wasn’t paying much attention though, Jude had started telling a story about how in 10th-grade chemistry they made the whole building evacuate by spilling chemicals.  
“My teacher wouldn’t let me touch anything for the rest of the year, not even the stapler,” Jude said, chuckling a bit. Henry was watching Jude with a sort of awe in his face. Their smile was one of the cutest things he’d ever seen. Jude’s teeth were all crooked but in a cute way, their incisors were like little fangs, bottom front teeth overlapping a bit. Henry always had a thing for funky teeth.   
Henry was pulled out of his thoughts when Jude gently grabbed his chin, tilting his face up. Jude looked closely at Henry’s eyes, almost studying them.   
“What’s up?” Henry asked, confused and turning very red.”  
“I never noticed that you have green eyes.” They said, letting go of Henry’s chin. He wanted their hand back. To cup his checks, run fingers through his hair.  
“Yep, my hair covers them a lot so people don’t see,” Henry replies.  
“They’re pretty,” Jude says, turning their eyes back toward the laptop screen.

Jude’s phone lights up with a notification saying their food had arrived in the dorm’s lobby. The tension is sliced when Henry offers to go down and grab it. He can’t deal with this. Jude being flirty is one thing, they’re a generally flirty person, but that seemed more intense than everything else that’s happened. Maybe Henry is blowing it out of proportion like he usually does. As the elevator dings at each floor, Henry keeps feeling Jude’s hand on his chin again. He tried to shake it off as he hands the delivery man money and takes the food. Hopefully chilling out and eating will take Henry’s mind off of the last half hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing this purely for myself so updates will be kinda slow.

**Author's Note:**

> Character descriptions
> 
> Henry: 18, 5'3", trans man. Mexican American. Has full body freckles. Passionate illustrator. Autistic. From a small town in Northern Maine. Baby Witch
> 
> Jude: 18, 6'1", nonbinary. White. Wears round black glasses and has green eyes. Black shaggy hair. Has a large scar across their neck from a biking accident. Animator but also loves to paint. From Atlanta Georgia. Practicing Pagan.


End file.
